This week inNature, Shubin and colleagues report on work initiated at the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) that provides major insight into the game-changing fin-to-limb transition. Led by Tetsuya Nakamura, the team showed that a set of genes, called Hox, plays a surprisingly similar role in patterning the rays of fins and the digits of tetrapod limbs. The New York Times calls it the discovery of “a deep evolutionary connection” between fins and hands and feet.

“This extraordinary study highlights the scientific convening power of the MBL and provides an elegant example of the unique opportunities the laboratory continues to provide to young scientists to take risks and drive forward major questions in biology,” says MBL Director of Research Jonathan Gitlin.

Photo caption: Markers of the wrists and digits in the limb of a mouse (left) are present in fish and demarcate the fin rays (right). The wrist and digits of tetrapods are the cellular and genetic equivalents of the fin rays of fish. Credit: Andrew Gehrke and Marie Kmita